Chapter 213
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: Corruption of the World Tree
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Not long after we began flying south, a vast expanse of forest came into view.
This was my first time seeing the Great Forest up close. I stopped at a safe distance, figuring any deeper and we'd trigger extreme caution from the elves.
Varil landed swiftly and stealthily. I stroked his head, and he let out a short growl before melting into my shadow.
"Everyone okay? No motion sickness?"
"Urp... F-Fine... I'm fine."
He claimed to be fine, but his face was already pale as a ghost.
The high elf young lady from House Trigrad had passed out cold.
"What was that just now?"
One of the elf escorts asked me cautiously.
"My undead familiar."
"You're a necromancer?! No, even then, I've never heard of anyone commanding an undead dragon..."
"No need to dig into it, right?"
"Ah... Fair enough."
"Elves tend to dislike necromancy, so I won't advertise it."
"Your consideration... Thank you."
"Mind waiting a bit? I need to pin down the coordinates."
"Sure. We'll wait."
I then scattered mana around us—x-axis, y-axis, z-axis.
After checking all the countless variables, I locked in the coordinates like setting a waypoint.
"Done. Let's go."
The two male elves gave me puzzled looks at my words. From how they were already unpacking, it seemed like they'd planned to camp here a while.
"Um... Didn't you just say you were securing coordinates?"
"Yeah. So?"
"But it's already done? Doesn't securing coordinates usually take a full day?"
"What, you spend a whole day pinning one set? On the battlefield, your head would be gone before you finished."
In the heat of combat, where every second counts, sitting in one spot for a day to set coordinates? Go ahead if you have a death wish.
"No... That's not something you can just rush because you want to..."
"Elves have a pretty wide patrol range, huh."
As I said that, I spotted numerous hidden elves suddenly training their bows on us.
The vibe was clear: no words, just shoot if we twitch. The escort elves rushed forward in a panic.
"Kinfolk! Stand down! We are the guards of Triana Bell Trigrad, legitimate heir to House Trigrad and candidate for the World Tree's proxy!"
The escort's shout made the elves' faces twist.
"Triana? I thought she was exiled from the forest."
"Clear the path. We might find a way to heal the World Tree."
Murmurs rippled through the bow-wielding elves.
"Then what's with that human?"
"A noble guest helping with this matter."
"...Lower your bows."
"Captain?!"
"Will you all follow my lead?"
Luckily, the elves didn't seem blindly hostile. Though confused, the guards lowered their weapons at the captain's command.
The elf guard captain then descended from a tree and bowed to Triana.
"Forgive our rudeness, Lady Triana."
"It's... fine. How's the forest holding up?"
"...Not well. Inside, rumors are spreading that you corrupted the World Tree's roots. Public opinion has turned sharply against you."
The guard's words naturally sparked outrage.
"That's absurd! No single elf could harm the World Tree like that!"
"Of course, many kin think the same. But rumors spread, and believers emerge. We don't know the source, but we can't ignore the protests from those already swayed. As such, your entry into the forest is officially banned."
The elf spoke to Triana with a stiff expression.
"I remember how you helped me long ago, Lady Triana. So this time, I'll look the other way."
The situation was more tangled than I'd expected.
Thanks to the guard captain's consideration, we made it inside, but Triana's face remained dark the whole way.
"At first, everyone dismissed it as nonsense. There was no evidence I'd done anything... The prevailing view was that one lone elf couldn't harm the World Tree."
But apparently, things had gotten complicated while she was briefly away.
"But... what on earth happened in that short time...?"
The elf forest was massive in scale.
Not all elves lived here, but a great many thrived under the World Tree's blessings.
"Let's head to the Trigrad estate first. I'll introduce you to my father and ask his advice on this mess."
"Sounds good."
A man who'd mobilized to save his daughter shouldn't be some lunatic.
We wove through sparsely populated paths, and soon a staggering sight unfolded before us.
A colossal tree spanning several kilometers with ease.
Not a living, moving being per se, but the World Tree enriched its surroundings by its mere presence, sustaining the elves.
That's why they revere it like a god.
However.
"Doesn't look healthy."
"Oh gods... The World Tree..."
Indeed, the massive World Tree in my view looked unwell even at a glance.
Its leaves, which should be lush green, were withered yellow, and bizarre purple sap oozed from the bark.
And above all...
"The spirits... they're trembling..."
The unnatural tremors in the air since earlier must have been from the spirits.
The elf forest looked far graver than I'd imagined.
"This way, milady."
We slipped in quietly to avoid notice and soon reached a grand elven mansion.
Unlike human architecture, the elves' tree-built homes had their own unique charm.
"Lady Triana?!"
"Bandal! Where's Father?!"
"Mercy... Your face is half-ruined... What hardships have you endured...?"
Triana gave a wry smile to the female elf examining her with trembling hands.
"I'm fine. More importantly, Father?"
"The family head is away at the elder council but should return soon."
The elf forest was governed by a handful of high elves leading like nobility.
House Trigrad being high elves made sense.
Then the door opened, and an elf man in elder council robes entered with a grim face.
"Father!!"
"Triana? Oh! Triana!"
Spotting her, he rushed over and pulled her into a hug.
"Ah... Triana. You're safe. I heard about the attack on you..."
"Father... I'm okay."
"I'm sorry. I never should have sent you out like that..."
He stroked her back repeatedly with shaking hands.
"But... who's this human?"
His gaze finally settled on me.
"Leon Cascadia, eldest son of the Cascadia Count's House in the Bata Kingdom."
"From the Bata Kingdom, eh. I am Oselon Bell Trigrad, head of House Trigrad."
"He also saved me from the illegal slave traders."
"What?!"
Oselon shot to his feet.
"They enslaved you?! Which scum did this?! I'll lead the troops and turn those bastards into pincushions right now!"
"Calm down! Thanks to Count Cascadia, they've all been apprehended and promised severe punishment!"
"I can't stand it! I'll put arrows between their eyes myself!!"
Surrounding elves rushed to restrain his explosive rage—it clearly wasn't a one-off occurrence.
"More importantly, Father! This lord might be able to solve the World Tree's problem."
Oselon calmed at her words and looked at me.
"What do you mean? A human can improve the World Tree's condition?"
"Nothing certain yet. I'd need to see it firsthand. By chance, do you have a fragment of the World Tree?"
He pondered my question, then beckoned a servant elf.
"Bring it."
"Pardon? But handling it carelessly..."
"Just bring it."
"Understood, family head."
The servant brought a rotten tree root on pristine white cloth.
But it wasn't mere rot—swollen, pulsating globs of purple mucus clung to it, grotesque.
"A World Tree root, by any chance?"
"Indeed. House Trigrad has long managed trees blessed by the World Tree. Thus, the elders entrusted us with this sample to seek a solution."
They say the World Tree connects from roots to every leaf.
Even severed, it shares the affliction—quite peculiar.
Incidentally, Fairy Wood production seems disrupted too.
Without the World Tree's grace, House Trigrad's output suffers.
I reached first for the corrupted root fragment.
"Hey!"
But Oselon grabbed my hand midair.
"What's that for?"
"Since you're my daughter's benefactor, I'll warn you: touching it bare-handed brings no good end."
He said with a hardened face.
"Every kin who's handled it directly has watched their fingers rot away, ultimately perishing. I may not favor humans much, but I can't let my daughter's savior die like that."
I withdrew my hand at his words.
"Appreciate the concern, but without checking, I can't tell if there's a way."
"I hold no great hopes anyway. Even experts shake their heads."
I silently stared at the root without touching it.
This wasn't just the World Tree falling ill.
Something external was at play.
I couldn't confirm it, but the hunch was strong.
"Um... Lord Leon. Is it possible?"
"I'd need to check the root directly, but... let's give it a shot."
I drew my claymore from subspace, slowly unsheathing it.
"Hold on. What are you..."
"Will it work?"
My question wasn't for Oselon.
It was for the claymore in my grip—for Nakwha.
The blade thrummed wildly in response.
'Hurry. Swing me! Show them my power!'
Seeing it pulse like that, certainty bloomed.
"It'll heal."
At my command, vast amounts of aura surged from my body into the World Tree's rotten root, and changes began to take hold.